All I Need is Postman Pat

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Every Friday, www.MPounce.co.uk will have 2 new Piano videos for you to enjoy!

Postman Pat is a well known children's programme, at least I know it well, but its theme is always one of those that I hum when I want to forget something else. It has that effect on the mind, hence why it's probably used for children's tv.

Okay to be serious, I had to take a different approach with this piece, because the music is one simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus pattern, so I had to implement a lot of improvisation. A more accurate way of putting it would be playing theme and variations on the theme of Postman Pat. The piano also helped in this way because there are plenty of ways to vary a theme like this. You can change the range used, go up/down an octave, or change the dynamics to suite the moment. You can also use a more varied set of rhythms such as quavers/crochets, or just held chords. The possibilities are endless with a theme as simple as this. If you wanted to you could make it a syncopated jazz style, or downbeat blues.

Here's some music then, Postman Pat, on the Piano, Performed by Michael Pounce.

The other video I have put together this week is a performance of James Lewis' "All I Need is Jesus" which is on the album "God of the Impossible" by Cathedral House Media. Definitely the album version is better than this one, but it's a great song, fully representing dependance on Jesus for our salvation. The music is piano based but it doesn't need to be improvised around as much, mainly because it is much more delicate than Postman Pat. My favourite part is the major 7th chords in the bridge, which flow really well and provide the music with a bit more colour.

This is All I Need is Jesus, On the Piano, Performed by Michael Pounce

Lyrics:
All I need is Jesus
All I need is Jesus
All I need is Jesus
All I need is Jesus

When the world seems too hard to bear,
and when my love for you grows cold.

All I need is Jesus
All I need is Jesus

Thanks for reading/listening/summoning the effort to read this far, and if you want to find out more about what I do, follow me at @MPounceMusic, on Twitter or YouTube, or to see my youtube channel go to MPounce.co.uk.

Don't Stop Believin' in the Bare Necessities of a Journey

Thanks for reading, and if you want to know more about the stuff I've played, check out my other posts, or follow me @MPounceMusic on Twitter.

Every Friday, www.MPounce.co.uk will have 2 new Piano videos for you to enjoy!

All things considered the next two tracks are a combination of paradoxes, on the one hand learning the new, and on the other hand recovering the old so it still looks new, but only to those on the outside. I still think the one I've known for ages still doesn't sound any different to 10 years ago when I first learnt it. I'll let you figure out which one is which. Comment below!

The key to learning a track that's been done before is not to make it sound exactly like the original, otherwise why would people want to listen to it? The llama would not have any reason to listen to my cover of Don't stop believing, if all I did was to copy a track from iTunes and rename it! (If you haven't read my previous entry, Shame on you! Go read it and you'll see what I mean.)

The other side of the spectrum is not making it too obscure what it is you're playing, i.e. on the piano, always include the melody as much as you can, as that is usually the most memorable part of the song. It is also the only bit of the song you sing in the bathroom. Have you ever heard anyone singing chords in a bathroom before? That would be ace! Chuck a bit of vocoder in there and it would sound crazy! Unfortunately for us mad techies that would most likely not be possible. Ignoring the massive health and safety issues of bringing a computer big enough into a room full of water appliances, you would also need to have a house which would put up with such a noise... maybe a flat? Possible, especially a techy, with no friends. (sad face).

Judging by the masses of people who have viewed my blog so far, and my videos, there must be some  people who have an interest in piano solo music, which encourages me. The aim of these pieces is for you guys to have something to listen to whilst you study/work/play/blog etc. and for me to build my skills as a pianist. Anything you can do as a musician which puts you in a different position, outside your comfort zone, will really build your skills and flexibility to perform. Also the ability to improvise is very useful, as it avoids what I mentioned earlier about making it sound exactly the same as the original, and extends the piece longer than the usual 2-3 minutes.

Moving on, the place where I have learnt how to do many of these things was at Barnsley College, where I spent 7 months playing to the students at lunch times to lighten the mood. Trifle, you might say, but it was the regularity of these performances which gave me the skills I now have and will likely not lose in my lifetime. These daily performances could have been in the baking sun, or (more likely) the pouring rain, many students or few, with a plan or no plan at all, but always fruitful. It is an experience I will want to draw on as I continue this blog, and the pieces I record.

So here are the tracks, hope you enjoy them, and Don't Stop Believing in the Bare Necessities of a Journey!

'Bare Necessities' - The Jungle Book

'Don't Stop Believing' - Journey

Please comment below, follow my twitter account at @mpouncemusic and visit my professional website if you have an interest in me or just want to know who on earth I am. I have many, many, many more tracks lined up over the coming weeks, so if you want to listen to more tracks then don't hesitate to visit www.MPounce.co.uk for more piano music on Friday. 2 new tracks will be available on the friday of every week, but for up to date updates, check out @mpouncemusic!

Thanks for reading!

Mike

Bring Me Sunshine with Your Song

Thanks for reading, and if you want to know more about the stuff I've played, check out my other posts, or follow me @MPounceMusic on Twitter.

Every Friday, www.MPounce.co.uk will have 2 new Piano videos for you to enjoy!

Hi readers,
This blog will have updates on my site, what I've been up to on the piano, and the general ramblings of a musician. Therefore, this blog is as important to read to as a telegram from New Zealand which reads:

--------------------------------------------- "HELP!!!" ----------------------------------------

The mystifying fact is the second line of the telegram:

----------------------------------------- Yours, The llama :) ----------------------------------------

Granted this llama was not a musician, but he was in great danger, judging by the extremities of the telegram. Why are they on a level par, I hear you ask. Well for one thing, I am not in great impending danger, but I AM a musician, which results in the same thing, a lot of work. 

Now when I say a lot of work there are two things you must understand. One, simply being a musician does not guarantee you work, but simply opens up many area to work IN, i.e. teaching, Gigs, teaching, Shows, teaching, Orchestras, teaching, comedians and teaching. Secondly, the llama would almost certainly get a job as an actor due to his obvious and seemingly miraculous ability to write. 

Now, Humorous asides aside, recently I have been working on the area of background piano music, and during my time at Barnsley College I learnt piano versions of music that most people would know. These pieces would be performed over the lunch break every day for the duration of my time at Barnsley College. Now I have moved on from this and now these pieces will be recorded (some already have been) and put onto YouTube for whoever wants to listen to something on the piano whilst they work, read, type or play. 

So one of my favourite tracks to play is the piano version of "Pirates of the Caribbean". This has been recorded, but not put on youtube, as I plan to make a very long version of this piece as it deserves to have this accolade. I first learnt the Pirates of the Caribbean theme when I first watched "The Curse of the Black Pearl"and instantly went to the piano to learn by ear. This is how I learn most of my music, but, when needed, I also make use of any piano scores I can get hold of, which always makes for a better performance as a result. Since then I have listened to many pieces, and done the same, which has left me with a large repertoire of pieces to perform, record an post onto YouTube.

So for the meat of the sandwich, the links for said Piano tracks, my first two pieces to be posted online. 

"Your Song" - Elton John

This one I learnt at home having used this song as a recording project at sixth form. The chords are a great combination and this piece shows that, even without the lyrics, the song still stands on its own two legs, unlike the llama, who has four. 


"Bring Me Sunshine" - Morecambe and Wise

This comedy classic is well known among those who were old enough to watch Morecambe and Wise in the late 90's and early 2000's. It was also  recently used for a BBC trailer advertising the year ahead for the BBC. This track is the extended version, which is far longer than the version used in this trailer. 


When I decide the next tracks to post I will write on Twitter @mpouncemusic and the next post on this blog will go on air soon after the next tracks have been put onto youtube. If this website address is too difficult to remember, then my personal website MPounce.co.uk will get you there. 

Thanks for reading, and if you see a llama in jobseekers send me a tweet and I'll ring the local acting society, they could use some help.